Silver Lining
by AJsRandom
Summary: Mergana oneshot. What would have happened if Morgana saw Merlin work his magic while the Witchfinder held her? What would she do? Takes place during/after 2.7.


**This idea popped into my head very late at night during one of my bouts of insomnia. :) I was up til 3 am roughing it out, but it was worth it, and I hope you agree!**

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><p>Everyone in the room stared in horror as the Witchfinder grabbed Morgana. He pulled her into his right side and held a dagger to her throat.<p>

"Aredian, think carefully about what you're doing," warned Uther. "You will never escape from Camelot alive."

The Witchfinder glanced side to side nervously. The only semi safe way out was through two of the best swordsmen in the realm. But he had insurance, "I will if you value the life of your ward."

Uther and Arthur slowly advanced on Aredian, swords drawn. Morgana squeaked in terror as Aredian glowered at his spectators. It was time to take action.

_The great thing about being in the background_, Merlin thought, _is that I can use magic without anyone seeing_. Fortunately. "_Forbærnan_," he whispered, and the dagger's hilt heated up, which caused Aredian to drop it with a cry of pain. This action loosened his hold on Morgana, and she quickly twisted away from him. In his pain and frustration he backed up toward a window. He didn't see the small chest sitting right in front of it and stumbled backwards and out the window before he knew what was happening.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the muted **THUD** his body made on the stone below. Merlin reflexively glanced at Morgana to check her condition. She was giving him an odd puzzled look. Did she see his eyes glow? His heartbeat sped up, but then her face cleared and she looked away. She said nothing besides replying to queries about her wellbeing. Dodged that arrow, he thought, and went about clearing up the room as he knew he'd be ordered to do so anyway.

xxxXxxx

A few hours later, Morgana was in her chambers preparing for bed. At least that's what she wanted Gwen to think. She sat at her vanity brushing her hair distractedly while Gwen turned down the bedcovers and other bedtime chores before she left for the night.

What Morgana was actually doing was pondering the earlier events in the Witchfinder's room. Did she really see what she thought she'd seen? Did Merlin really perform magic? To save her? Did he know she'd seen? Why would he risk his own neck?

The rest of the day she'd thought about summoning him so she could have answers to these questions, but she didn't want to scare him off. He was probably busy running around after Arthur as well. The Witchfinder mess wouldn't sort itself out by itself, after all. So she pondered how she could get Merlin alone in a way he wouldn't be spooked. _Ah, that's it_, she thought.

She spoke up, "Gwen, on your way home would you stop by the physician's chambers and tell him I need my sleeping draught?"

"Of course, My Lady," Gwen replied. She finished her chores and was off with a, "Goodnight, My Lady."

Morgana perched herself on her bed and waited for Merlin to arrive. Sure enough, within fifteen minutes, there was a quiet knock on her door.

"Come in," she called.

Merlin opened the door and stepped into her room, closing it behind him. "I've brought your draught, Milady," he said shyly, and gave her a kind smile.

"Thank you Merlin, you may put it here on the table," she replied, and indicated the one next to her bed. He stepped closer and sat down the bottle.

Morgana stared at him quizzically. Butterflies rumbled in her stomach as she thought of the questions she desperately wanted to pose. He stared back for a minute or so, a puzzled frown on his face. He inclined his head in respect and asked, "Is there anything else you need, Milady?" He was curious about her stare, but decided not to ask about it. His bed was calling him loudly.

She chickened out, "No thank you Merlin; that will be all. He gave her a small bow and turned to leave the room. She bit her lip in chagrin. _What happened to the strong, bold Morgana?_ She thought, and then gathered up her remaining courage to say, "Merlin . . ."

He turned to face her again and asked. "Milady?" Was she going to explain what was on her mind after all?

She stood and took a couple steps toward him, "Merlin, I saw something odd earlier today."

He froze and his eyes widened. His face paled even more – she didn't know that was even possible. He spoke haltingly, "Y – You did? What – When was it?"

"Well, that's the question, isn't it?" she replied, then boldly pressed on, "While the Witchfinder held me hostage, I saw your eyes glow and he dropped his dagger. Did you do magic?"

Merlin's mouth dropped open and he stared at her in shock. "Are you sure that's what you saw?" he eventually said. "It could have been a trick of the light or –"

"No Merlin, I was watching you the whole time. Your mouth moved at the same time your eyes glowed. You forget I've been 'trained' to recognize the signs of magic being performed."

He blew out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, yes, that was magic. I have magic and I couldn't let anything happen to you. You weren't supposed to see any of that," he said sheepishly.

Morgana sensed many different thoughts and emotions whirling through her mind. His confession brought up a whole host of new questions, but first she had to reply before he ran off. That's what it looked like he was going to do next.

She took a deep breath and walked toward him, stopping when he was within her reach. She took his hands and looked into his eyes, "I should probably be furious with you right now for hiding that from me. But all I can really say is 'thank you.'" She stepped a little closer and wrapped her arms around his chest. His body tensed but he didn't move. He felt warm and was also more muscular than she'd thought. _Nice._

Merlin's mind was running wild. Wow_, the Lady Morgana is giving _me_ a hug!_ He couldn't quite believe this was happening. He relaxed, breathing deeply to calm his heart rate so he could enjoy the moment.

She took a step back and looked into his eyes. He looked both confused and amused, but mostly content. She could get lost in those deep blue eyes. "You deserve a better reward for saving my life. Maybe this will do," she said, and stepped forward. She placed her hands on his chest and tilted her head up to reach her lips to his.

Merlin again froze in shock, this one greater than the first. Then he mentally shook himself and started kissing back. He relaxed further as a warm feeling flooded his whole body. One of his hands tangled itself in her hair and the other drifted to the back of her waist.

Morgana's hands slid to the back of his neck then into his hair. _Wow!_ She thought. _Why didn't I do this before?_ A comforting warmth came over her as well, threatening to overwhelm her.

Eventually they had to break for air. They stood there breathing heavily as they looked into each others' eyes, bright with excitement. He gave a low chuckle and simply held her there

She shook her head slowly and came back to reality, _oh no, what have I done?_ She took a step back and brought her hands back to cover her gaping mouth. "I am so so sorry," she choked out, "I had no right to do that!"

He looked at her with amusement twinkling in his eyes. "That's all right," he drawled, "I've been thinking about doing something like that anyway. For a while now – in my dreams. I never thought they'd come true."

She looked up at him in amazement, "You were? I never imagined –" _If that's true, how did I not notice before?_ She cast her eyes down in deep thought, a small frown creasing her brow.

Merlin looked at her in coy amusement, grinning broadly. Then his face softened, and he said huskily, "Yeah, and if you don't mind, I'll take my turn now."

He looked into her eyes, searching for permission. _Ever the gentleman._ When he found it, he raised his hands to cup her face and gently lifted it to his. This kiss was more urgent, but more tender. It seemed to be filled with words he'd wanted to say but dared not to before this. Morgana slipped her arms around his waist for support and to keep him close to her.

They broke apart slowly and rested their foreheads together, panting slightly. "Wow!" they said simultaneously, and laughed together breathlessly. They looked into each others' eyes and saw wonder and amazement there.

Morgana took his hand again and pulled him toward her bed. Merlin hesitated, uncertain of her motive. She sat and patted a space next to her and said, "Don't worry, I just want to talk. Just talk, I promise." She smiled up at him and he sat down next to her. Their eyes locked and he flushed and looked down at their joined hands. He heard her sparkling laugh as she reached out her unoccupied hand to his chin and lifted his head, "Surely you can't be shy after all that!"

He smiled sheepishly, then said, "No, but I'm worried that you'd still be upset at me for keeping my magic a secret from you." He was still a bit dazed from their kissing.

"Yes, let's talk about that," she replied sternly, then giggled to show she was just kidding. "Why didn't you tell me instead of sending me to the druids? They'd still be alive now."

"I know, and I feel immensely guilty about that. Gaius and . . . another friend warned me to keep it to myself. They feared that you'd go to the king and set me up for execution. I like my head where it is," they both chuckled at that. "And I was afraid you'd put yourself in danger as well."

"I can take care of myself. Besides, I would never tell – we're friends at least, maybe more?" she replied hopefully. "Anyway, I _could_ expose myself if I exposed you, you're right. I need my head too."

"Yeah . . ." Merlin breathed. "What? . . . I mean . . . huh? Say again?" He rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. Morgana giggled while he shook his head.

"Oh never mind that," she said. "So, how long have you been learning magic?"

"Well, I've never had to learn. I could move things around since before I could talk. I was born with it. When I came here I learned it was my destiny to protect Arthur so he could eventually unite Albion and bring magic back. I've only ever used magic for good."

Morgana sat there with her mouth hanging open, "Born with it? Wow, I've never heard of that! And that destiny – that explains why you'd stay here." She thought for a minute then said, "I've been having nightmares for as long as I can remember, and they've been coming true that long."

"Yeah, we- Gaius and I -think you're a Seer. Your 'nightmares' are really visions of the future. You've helped me save Arthur a few times with them. Remember Sophia? She and her father were Sidhe who wanted to sacrifice Arthur to get back into Avalon."

"Just when I think I can't get any more surprised . . . any other secrets?"

"Well, the druids call me Emrys, and evidently there are a lot of prophecies about me and what I'll do. I don't really know what they are though," he replied, then blushed and looked away.

"Okay then!" she shook her head. "So you apparently know a lot more about magic than I do. Would you be willing to teach me?"

This time Merlin's mouth fell open, and his eyes snapped back to her, "What? Really?" he grinned broadly. "Well, yeah! I can scrape up time here and there, but we'll have to keep it a secret. Even from Gaius. He wouldn't approve," he made a funny face at that.

"So we'll have some time together, which brings us back to . . ."

". . . Us. Yeah," the goofy grin made an appearance. "So, where do we go from here, considering we're not even supposed to look at each other?"

She took his other hand, "Well, I've noticed Gwen and Arthur sharing glances and getting away with it. If they can do it, we can." She gave him a flirtatious wink.

Merlin blushed again, "Oh you noticed that huh? Please don't tell Arthur – he'll think I told you and yell at me. Or worse. That's all I need."

"Oh don't worry. I won't. We don't want him to find out about us, after all. Our necks are in enough danger as it is."

"I'd risk my neck for you. You're worth it," he stated firmly. He stared into her eyes to make sure she knew he was serious. She visibly melted, and fell forward into his arms. They remained that way for a few minutes then reluctantly drew apart.

He pulled a hand from hers and lay placed it on the side of her face, "Well Milady, this evening has turned out much better than I thought it would, but I should be getting to my own bed."

She placed her hand over his and replied, "I understand." They are together, not _together_. She could wait for the right time. This was all new for both of them and they could get confused very easily. It was best to take it slowly and wait until things were less risky and more certain.

He stood slowly, keeping her hand in his. She stood quickly after and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him to her. She pulled back a little and smiled up at him before brushing his lips with hers once again, "Goodnight Merlin."

Smiling delightedly at her, he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "Goodnight Milady," he said, and kissed her hand lovingly.

"Morgana," she instructed him.

"Goodnight, _Morgana_," he replied, and slowly let go of her hand. He backed away slowly, keeping those beautiful blue eyes on her jade ones as long as he could. At the door he reached behind him to open it then backed out through the space with a final wave to her.

After the door closed, Morgana sighed happily. She started slowly twirling and dancing around her chambers, eventually flopping onto her bed, giggling happily. This had been such an unexpectedly _magical _evening. She now had an adorable, caring confidante who would be there for her as she would be there for him. Who knew that from such a horrible dark day she'd find a wonderful silver lining?

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><p><strong>AN I hope that wasn't too preachy there at the end. I genuinely think Merlin wouldn't "take advantage." He's wait until after marriage.**


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